The present invention relates to an iron golf club head, and in particular, relates to an iron golf club head in which a viscoelastic body is disposed on and attached to a back face of a faceplate thereof.
An iron golf club head at least includes a faceplate for hitting a golf ball, a sole, and a hosel. A shaft is inserted into and fixed to the hosel, thereby constituting an iron golf club.
In order to absorb the impact or vibration generated in a golf club head when the ball is hit by the golf club, a viscoelastic material such as rubber may be attached to the golf club head or may be embedded in a hollow portion of the golf club head.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 06-510689 discloses that an elliptical viscoelastic sheet made of butyl rubber and having a diameter of major axis of 45 mm, a diameter of minor axis of 18 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm is bonded to a back face of a faceplate. This patent document also discloses that a nameplate made of an aluminum-zinc-magnesium alloy having a thickness of 1 mm is bonded to the viscoelastic body.
However, as disclosed in the patent document, the viscoelastic sheet and the nameplate have the same size. For this reason, the edge face of the viscoelastic sheet is exposed to the atmosphere, so that it may be prone to deterioration, for example, by water or ultraviolet radiation, or so that it may peel from the back face of the faceplate. Also, the viscoelastic sheet may lack a vibration absorbing effect because the viscoelastic sheet absorbs only vibration directly propagated from the faceplate.